Hellgates Awake
My first fanfiction on here, hurray! ALL THE PLACES AND SOME CHARACTERS BELONG TO BRIAN JACQUES, I ONLY OWN THE ONES NOT IN BOOKS! Prologue Dark winds blew across a dark, distant place. And in that dark, distant place, lay a gray castle standing, beaten, on a gloomy and misty hill. In the castle, a silver and white vixen sat upon a ruby black throne. "Bring the Seer." Clicked the fox on the throne, curling his paws into fists and banging them harshly against the arms of his seat. Two weasels, both armed and dangerous, stepped forward, a ragged russet vixen was being dragged behind them. "Vulpuz... Oh, Vulpuz!" The vixen cried, sinking to his knees. "I am the great Seer of the Juskaquatth Clan! Its an honor to meet you while I'm- still alive!" The silver and white vixen- Vulpuz, raised his brow. "The Juskaquatth Clan are full of cowards!" He hissed, standing up and glaring down at the poor Seer. "I demand you tell me how a coward reaches Hellgates alive! Only great beasts like Martin the Warrior and Sunstripe the Mace can come to my kingdom!" The Seer shrunk under his tangled pelt. "Great Vulpuz! Spare me and I'll tell you!" He pleaded, tears forming in his auburn shaded eyes. In reaction to those tears, Vulpuz nodded at the female weasel dragging the Seer, and she whipped the Seer with a belt. "Owee!" The Seer cried and looked at Vulpuz, rolling over in submission. "My Lord, oh, my Lord!" He said in a singsong voice. "Great Vulpuz! I shall tell you the story of how a coward from the cowardly Juskaquatth Clan gets to Hellgates alive while only great beasts like Martin the Warrior and Sunstripe the Mace can come to your great kingdom, your majesty!" The Seer concluded with a gulp. Vulpuz looked contented, and with a fanged grin, he clapped and sank down in his throne. "Begin, cowardly Seer!" He shouted, leaning forward eagerly. The Seer grinned back and stood upright. The fox's whiskers twitched and he shook his bone skirt, a tradition of Seers, and began to sing: "Ohh! I am Reeden the Seer of Juskaquatth, if you make my meadowcream pie I can sing! I'll sing for you happily now, and even in kingdom of Vulpuz! I was in my tent, and miz General Yewwreath came up to me and said 'sah, good sah. Wot up?' and I said 'herb hunting' like always." He paused for a moment, then sang again. 'Miz General Yewwreath shrugged and nodded, and clapped me in the back like a good ole' chum. I smirked and I ran, my bones clinging cheerfully,and so I found some juniper, and so I was hungry! I ate that juniper but my,my. I was wrong! The holly berries made me sick and I managed to drink from them stream! But my bones ached and the march of cowardly howard pelt me 'sleep. And so I ended up here, Hellgates!" The vixen bowed. Vulpuz clapped, roaring with laughter. "Ye gotta mighty good tune, Seer coward. Aye! Near death experience, so you wanna return to those cowards, eh?" He chuckled, looking at Reeden Seer in the eye. "Yes, I do, sah." The silver and white vixen clapped his paws together. "Then shall it be, fox! You amused me today shall I let you live." He turned sharply to the two weasels. "Bring em' to the gates, you dead vermin!" He snapped, pointing a paw at the door as the two weasels hurriedly ran to the gates with Reeden Seer. He abruptly turned to a muscular badger, who had a black cloak and spear in his huge paw. "You!" Vulpuz shouted. "Go after them! The badger looked fairly suprised. "Sah, they've already thrown the Seer in the gate..." Vulpuz grinded his teeth in anger, pointing his spear at the badger's nose. "Bladestripe, dear" He growled, drawing blood to the badger. "open the gates again. Go to the Abbey; you know where that is right, Bladestripe?" Bladestripe the badger Warlod nodded, gulping. "You will spy on the Abbey!" The vixen shouted. "They have ruled Mossflower for thousands of years! They are weak and cowardly now! They must have a new ruler." Vulpuz smiled at Bladestripe. "and that ruler, shall be you, Abbot Bladestripe." Bladestripe nodded, terrified. He heftily dashed off, in his armor, to the Gates to Mossflower woods. Meanwhile, Vulpuz smiled. "Much better." He walked to his throne. "Ah, serenity at last. Redwall will be strong again! A chorus from the once silent bystanders erupted. "Strong again! Strong again!" They chanted wildly. For once in a thousand years, Vulpuz thought, a smirk plastered onto his silver and white muzzle smugly, I am contented in a plot, and it only involves a thousand dead warriors. Chapter 1 ~ Mossflower Bladestripe's eyes fluttered open, and he looked blearily at his surroundings. This is isn't Hellgates.... He thought, confused. But then he remembered Vulpuz had sent him to Redwall, in here he was in a small hollowed tree, owned by a widowed mousemaid he had slaughtered the night before. He shook his burly head and licked his lips, heaving himself to the kitchens. "Hurrhurr I smell meadowcream cherry pie, mm, hadn't had that for a while...." He mumbled and sniffed the air, looking around the empty parlor. He spotted a meadowcream pie, the aroma making him drool. Bladestripe wolfed down the meal hungrily, then limped out of the humble house, spear clutched in his hefty big paw. He wandered through Mossflower, grinning. "I remember this place, Mossflower." He gestured, talking to himself. "I tried to take over the place five hundred years ago! Hurrhurrhurr! I slayed Qiiecomo the Wise here! Old fool he was, hurrhurr, fat too!" "Who ye talking to, old chap, wot wot!" Cried a young voice, Bladestripe turned around, his spear pointing at a grungy hare. "Hey!" The hare shouted, flailing his white paws. "No need for violence sah!" Bladestripe narrowed his eyes. "Sorry." He replied. "Are you one of the Long Patrol?" Sah hare here looks like Cap'n Reddear! He thought, touched by the memory of the old Long Patrol general. He imagined Reddear yelling at the young badger Dibbun running around and stepping on his tail. The hare chuckled softly. "I wonder if I am sometimes." When the creature noticed Bladestripe wasn't going to reply, he continued. "Ovlandar of Redwall Abbey, sah." Bladestripe quickly thought of a disguise. Nobody would want to see a creature who nearly destroyed Mossflower a couple of hundred years ago. "Warlord Lamberlog at your service, Ovlander of Abbey!" He said, bowing to kiss the hare's paw. Ovlander grinned. "I suspect you want something from mizter Ovlander, Lord?" He asked, patting his belly triumphantly. "Perhaps." Bladestripe flinched knowingly. "Take me to your Abbey, I'm an- er, delivering a message from a nearby Juska tribe." His paw slowly reached for his spear. The white hare raised a brow. "Juska! Ah! I should've known, wot wot!" He leaned towards Bladestripe, dropping his voice to a clear whisper. "Sorry sah, wot! But the Abbey has had trouble with Juska's for like wot, forever! I wouldn't trust them if I were you!" "Of course. Now, can I please go to Redwall Abbey!" He said, growing impatient. "Oh yes! Of course, of course sir! Wot wot, follow me sah!" Yipped Ovlander, straightnening his rough blue cloak and hopping through the woods. "So, its Lamberlog, eh? Whats this Juska tribe called?" The hare asked as they walked. Bladestripe chewed his lip. This is hard. He thought, scratching his ear. He remembered Vulpuz scolding the Seer from a tribe of cowards and liars... "Erm, the Juskaquatth sah!" He said, nearly tripping on a root. Ovlander laughed. "Full erf' liars and cowards there! No real warriors. Its just a bunch of good for nothing stoats? Did ye kill any of em'?" He asked, looking up at Bladestripe curiously. "A weasel called Kiltop." Bladestripe replied. "Ow' you kill him?" Ovlander asked, bending his ears back. Bladestripe suddenly had a plan. The big badger grinned, all his yellowed and gnarled fangs bared at the small snowshoe hare. ''Dumb rabbit. ''He thought, his eyes glinted. ''Couldn't make the Long Patrol if eh tried! ''"Like this! Hohohoho!" Bladestripe grabbed his spear and drived it in the ground below him. Ovlander looked confused at the badger's sudden laugher and started laughing himself. "Say goodbye, bunny!" Cried Bladestripe and pulled his spear out of the dirt, then sliced it through Ovlander's chest. Ovlander's mouth went into an 'O' shape and he collapsed to the ground. Bladestripe heard a sudden wail at Ovlander's cry of death. The badger quickly stabbed himself in the paw and collapsed to the ground, but absurdly threw his spear across the clearing. A young mousemaid entered the clearing, and her eyes went wide when she saw a injured badger and a dead Ovlander and blood smeared across the grass. "Sister Pansy!" She screeched, flailing her tiny arms in the air. Bladestripe looked up weakly, but of course, it was fake. "Help..." He croaked, then pretended to black out. He strained to hear the conversation. "What is it, young Dibbun! I don't have time for games like-" A voice was trailed off and followed by a scream. Bladestripe smelled spikedog. "Sister Pansy!" Wailed the small mouse Dibbun. "Ovlander is dead! We must save this badger to honor Ovlander!" ''I don't think its very honorble to save a murderer! ''Thought Bladestripe, smirking inside his mind. (Tbc...)